R. Kirby Barrick began his career as a high school teacher of vocational agriculture. After serving as an assistant state supervisor with the Ohio Department of Education, he earned the Ph.D. in Agricultural Education from The Ohio State University and joined the faculty where he taught courses in teaching and learning. He was awarded the OSU Distinguished Teaching Award, the Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Award, and the NACTA Distinguished Educator Award. His research interests include teaching and learning theory and practice in domestic and international settings. He has authored/presented more than 275 articles, papers, posters and workshops, and served as principal investigator for more than $8 million in grants. He is a Fellow in the AAAE and is a Fulbright Senior Specialist. Barrick was a department chair Ohio State, Associate Dean for Academic Programs at the University of Illinois, and Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida. He has taught graduate-level courses in teacher education, instructional design, and university governance, and conducted professional development activities for practicing educators. He has worked extensively internationally, conducting teaching and learning and curriculum development workshops for university and technical school faculty.
Andrew Thoron is the Department Head for the Agricultural Education and Communication Department at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia. Andrew began teaching school-based agricultural courses at Mt. Pulaski High School in Illinois. He then took on a state leadership role with the Illinois State Board of Education for agricultural education where his primary responsibility was to aid agriscience teachers, administrators, and community members in developing and maintaining agricultural education programs. Dr. Thoron served on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Florida where he served as the teacher education coordinator and provided state-wide leadership for teacher professional development. His research expertise is in the area of teaching and learning that focuses on effective teaching and argumentation skill development. He has authored/co-authored over 50 referred journal articles, over 125 paper/poster presentations, and has been awarded over $3 million in grants. Dr. Thoron has been recognized as the Journal of Agricultural Education author of the year four times and been recognized nationally and internationally for his teaching, advising, and research. Dr. Thoron holds degrees from Lincoln Land Community College (AS), Illinois State University (BS) – Agricultural Education, and the University of Florida (MS & Ph.D.) in Agricultural Education & Communication – Teacher Preparation.